HOUSE OF WAX
Family was always something Ginny had lacked, for at four years old she was put into foster care. The big, blue-eyed girl didn't remember anything before her time in the system, instead making her way from home to home until she ended up with the Lifton's. A sweet, older couple who'd tried for years to have a child of their own before finally deciding adoption was their best bet and so, at nine-years-old, Ginny was welcomed into their family, and the house next door. That was how she met her best friend of twelve years, Carly Jones. A bubbly and caring strawberry blonde with a heart of gold, something that was the complete opposite of her twin brother. For Nick was rude, cold and often getting himself into serious trouble.
Ginny and Nick had a love/hate relationship. As in she hated him and he loved to make her life miserable.
But recently that target had been placed firmly on his sister's back after a brush with the law had left their already strained relationship in tatters. Not to mention, he absolutely hated Carly's boyfriend, Wade. So when Carly asked her to tag along on an out-of-state trip to watch a football game, Ginny knew the answer.
"No." She told her green eyed friend as the Jones girl stood in their dorm room, looking up from her laptop with a scoff "No way in hell."
"Aw, c'mon, Gin." Carly pouted as she moved to stand before the girl's bunk "You have to come. You know Paige will spend all her time with Blake, and there's no way Wade and I can handle Nick and Dalton alone."
The brunette sighed at the thought of their meshed friendship group. It used to be just the three girls until their third roommate fell in love with Nick's friend Blake, forcing the boys to hang out with Carly and Ginny. Dalton didn't mind, the Chapman man had a die£hard crush on his best friend's sister after all, not to mention he loved to film every moment of drama between the bickering twins and Ginny's impressive bosom. But Nick hated it. He didn't want to spend any more time with his sister or the girl next door, nor their annoying as sin boyfriend's.
"Please?" Carly pleaded, batting her eyelashes when she noticed Ginny didn't look like she would agree anytime soon "Come on, you can bring Luke, it'll be like a weekend long double date!"
The Lifton girl paused at the thought. She'd been trying to get her boyfriend of two years to go out more, but between his classes and his part time job as his professors TA, he barely had a moment for her. Ginny sighed in defeat and Carly tossed her arms up in success seeing the resignation in her eyes "Okay, we'll come. But I am not going in a car with Nick."
"You and me both." Carly snorted, placing an obnoxious kiss on Ginny's cheek "You won't regret this, I promise!"
Ginny watched the Jones girl bounce out of their room to meet Wade for dinner before she looked back at her laptop to the open page on the internet browser, clicking onto the link to the little town of Ambrose, Louisiana. One she'd been able to trace back to for information from an old Polaroid. The one of her as a little girl, standing outside a museum.
The one called House of Wax.
🕯
Ginny held a smile on her face as she knocked on the door of boyfriend's dorm. She could hear the creak of his desk chair as he stood up before the locked clicked and he opened up, eyebrow's furrowing "Did we have something scheduled?"
"I didn't know we needed to." She chuckled, swanning into the room past him, her smile intact as she looked around. His computer was lit up, stacks of papers strewn about the table, the only sign of life in the otherwise meticulous room. She made her way over to the bed, plopping down as the boy closed his door "So, Carly invited us on a trip this weekend..."
Luke snorted as he returned to his desk "How did she take it when you told her no?"
"Well, I did, at first... but then I realised how nice it would be." She bit her lip hopefully "To get away together. You're always so busy--"
"Yeah, because some of us actually take college seriously." He cut her off, sighing and rubbing at the bridge of his nose under his glasses when her smile dropped "I'm sorry, I'm just stressed."
Ginny got to her feet and flitted over to the boy to rub his shoulders "So take the weekend off..." she placed a soft kiss on his cheek "with me..." her lips moved to his neck as her hands drifted down his chest slowly "... no work, all play—"
The Lifton girl was cut off as Luke stepped away, forcing her hands to drop at her sides fruitlessly "I can't, Ginny. I need to get back to work."
"Do you know the last time we went on a date?" Ginny rebutted, folding her arms across her chest as he sighed "How about the last time we had sex? Kissed? When was the last time you even held my hand?"
"I... I can't remember."
Ginny's eyes filled with tears as she nodded "I can. Four months ago."
Luke let out a groan "I'm sorry, but you're just not my top priority right now."
"Have I ever been?" She questioned softly, feeling her heart clench as her boyfriend looked to the floor "I can't do this anymore, Luke."
"I understand."
Ginny couldn't help but scoff, but it didn't stop the tears from spilling down her cheeks "You're not even going to try and fix this? Fight for us?"
Luke sighed, giving a little shrug "I mean, it's been over for a while, hasn't it? We just don't... match. I'm focused on college, I don't party, my friends aren't—"
"Aren't what?" She gritted out.
"Oh, come on. You know exactly what I mean." He shot her a look "Nick stole a car!"
Ginny shook her head "No, no, you are not using something like that as excuse as to why we don't work. Nick's criminal record isn't the reason you don't want me... He's not the reason you gave up."
"You're right." He admitted after a moment, running a hand through his curly brunette hair "I just..."
A lump formed in her throat as her arms wrapped tighter around her middle "Is—is there someone else?"
"No." He assured before sighing heavily "I just... I'm not in love with you anymore."
"Oh." Ginny mumbled, the tears pouring silently down her face before she nodded slowly and backed away "Right... well I guess there really is nothing to fix then, is there?"
He stepped towards her, stopping when she held up a hand "Ginny..."
The Lifton girl shook her head, swallowing down the lump in her throat as she headed for the door "Goodbye, Luke."
🕯
Ginny wiped the tears from her face, pausing outside her dorm room to take a deep breath and compose herself. She could hear Carly and Paige giggling inside and she didn't want to be the one to spoil the mood. Once she was sure her friends wouldn't take one look at her and see her previous breakdown, she used her key and let herself inside only to be hit in the fact by a flying bra "Jesus!"
The room was silent before Carly and Paige dissolved into a fit of giggles making Ginny roll her eyes but smile a little as she tossed it back towards the blonde before heading to her side of the room to start packing. The Jones girl smiled "So, is Luke excited for the game?"
Paige's nose scrunched in distaste "He's coming? Like Wade isn't bad enough."
"Paige." Carly shot the girl a look. It was no secret that she and their friends weren't two fond of the pair's boyfriends but it still sucked when they vocalised it.
Ginny sighed, not looking away from her bag as she tossed a few clean shirts inside "He uh, he can't make it."
While Paige grinned and skipped to the bathroom, Carly looked to her best friend with furrowed eyebrows "Why not? It's just three days."
"Yeah, well it's just three days he can't do." She shrugged, glancing over to the girl to give her a convincing grin "Guess you'll just have to make do with me being a third wheel."
"Please." Carly scoffed as she hopped over to the brunette, rapping her arms around her shoulders as she placed another kiss on her cheek "Wade's the third wheel here."
"Yeah, yeah and don't you forget it." Ginny teased as the girl floundered back to her own placing before the Lifton girl's gaze landed on the Polaroid hidden in her drawer and was quick to stuff in between her shirts. The group would driving right through Louisiana and maybe, just maybe she could convince Wade to make a pit stop in Ambrose. But first she had to finish packing.
A gasp followed by Paige's screech had the two best friend's race out towards the bathroom where they found the blonde standing in the middle of the room "What? What happened?"
"More like what didn't happen." Paige scoffed hysterically.
Ginny frowned and approached the wide eyed blonde "Paige, what are you talking about?"
Her blue eyes filled with tears, her voice a mere whisper "I'm late."
"For what?" Carly questioned before the realisation hit. Her period was late "Oh, shit."